Hasmonean dynasty

The Hasmonean dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Judea that reigned from 140 BC to 37 BC, with Jerusalem serving as its capital. The dynasty was established by Simon Thassi two decades after his brother Judas Maccabeus defeated the Seleucids in the Maccabean Revolt. In 63 BC, the Roman Republic invaded Judea, and the kingdom was broken up and turned into a Roman client state. During the war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, Judea was also thrown into civil war as Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II vied for power, and the deaths of Pompey and Caesar and continued civil war in Rome allowed for Judea, with Parthian help, to reassert a degree of autonomy. This short independence was crushed by Octavian and Mark Antony, and, in 37 BC, Herod the Great was installed as king of a client state of Judea, ending the Hasmonean dynasty and ushering in the Herodian dynasty.